City's secret millionaire (From Worcester News)

City's secret millionaire

9:50am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in News By Sarah Davies

A LUCKY ticket holder from Worcester is believed to have scooped almost £2.4 million on the lottery.

The Worcester News understands that the winner lives in the Dines Green area of the city but has chosen not to go public about their good fortune.

The win has been a hot topic of conversation among residents, including on Facebook page The Only Way Is Dines Green, especially as it is thought the winning ticket was bought from the Co-op in Gresham Road.

Rob Evans, team manager at the store, said the news had caused a stir among his customers.

He said: “I was just gutted I wasn’t standing where the winner was.

"I know it was one of the girls who sold the ticket. Everyone’s been talking about it.

“I’d just like to say ‘well done’ to the winner. I think we’re all going to play the lottery now.”

Mr Evans also said that the branch was currently on a winning streak, as another lucky customer had won £1,000 on a scratch card a few weeks earlier.

Coun Margaret Layland, city councillor for St John’s, said the news was “very exciting”.

“To the best of my knowledge, no one in Dines Green has ever had a big win before,” she said.

“I’m really pleased for them. When you think they could be someone that might have had to eke the pennies out every week and now they’re set up for life, it’s wonderful.”

It is believed the lottery winner became an instant millionaire after correctly matching six numbers on the draw held on Wednesday, February 8.

The winning numbers were 7, 13, 16, 31, 36, 44 and 26, and three people shared a jackpot of a little over £7 million – banking £2,362,887 each.

With their new-found wealth, our lottery winner could buy three luxury 65’ yachts with a price tag of £750,000 each, splash out on 10 Ferrari FFs at a cost of £227,077 each, or buy Hartlebury Castle – the former home of the Bishops of Worcester.

A spokesman for Camelot, which runs the National Lottery, confirmed that there were three people who shared the jackpot on February 8.

She also said that Camelot was unable to confirm any details of lottery winners if they did not opt for publicity.

Worcester’s newest millionaire is by no means the county’s first big lottery winner.

In 2008, the Worcester News reported how hostel chef Herbert Plant, of Blackpole, Worcester, scooped £2.6 million.

And Redditch couple Dennis and Val Carter won the first ever double-top prize of £200,000 in the new Health Lottery in December last year, but nearly missed out on their windfall when they accidently threw the ticket away.